Misrepresentation of Staffing Standards for Police
David N. Ammons and Joshua S. Edwards

Despite the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to discourage the use of its staffing statistics as prescriptive standards and denials by the International Association of Chiefs of Police that staffing standards even exist, some local law enforcement agencies continue to cite national standards as they argue for additional resources and officers. This article examines 30 such cases in order to explore the nature of the misinformation surrounding this so-called police staffing standard, which if accepted, could have important budgetary ramifications for the communities that adopt these prescriptions. The authors acknowledge the value of legitimate standards but caution against the use of poorly conceived ratios presented as prescriptive standards of staffing.

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